Heel-stiffener for boots or shoes



(No Model.)

G. A. FULLERTON.

HEEL STIFFENER FOR BOOTS 0R SHOES.

No. 299,125; Patented May 27, 1 884.

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GEORGE A. FULLERTON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

HEEL-STIFFENER FOR BOOTS OR SHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 299,125, dated May 27,18847:.

Application filed December 20, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. FULLERTON, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulHeel-Stiffenerfor Boots and Shoes, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying draw ings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a plan of a heel-stiffener ready for lasting. Fig. 2is a cross-section enlarged of the same, on line 00 w, illustrating theconstruction. Fig. 3 is Fig. 1 lasted independ ently of the upper.

Heel stiffeners are made, principally, of leather and leather board,although a variety of other sheet material has been used, and is nowused to some extent. The best stiffeners are made of leather, becausethat possesses the requisite toughness and flexibility, while at thesame time it is sufficiently stiff or inflexible. Leather-boardstiffeners are much cheaper, but also inferior, because they are toorigid and also too brittle when skived down as thin as is desirable insome parts.

My stiffener is made of felt or like fibrous material in sheet form, thefibers being cemented together; and my invention consists in aheel-stiffener for boots or shoes, composed of fibers arranged in sheetform and of the proper outline, and having the fibers so cementedtogether as to give the desired stiffness and toughness; also the properflexibility.

The best mode of manufacturing the cheaper grades of my stiffeners is todie them out from felt of the proper thickness, then saturate them witha solution of glue, and pass them through wringer-rolls to expel thesurplus solution, and then mold them to shape over the heel part of alast, which should be of metal, to prevent the glue from sticking to it.This cheaper grade is objectionable, because of the sticky character ofthe glue, and the higher grades have therefore a covering or lining, orboth, of thin cotton cloth, as is illustrated in Fig. 2, where (6represents the body of felt saturated with a solution of glue,- 1), thecovering of drilling, and (Z the lining, also of drilling. By using thiscovering and lining b (Z, and having its edges drawings, the stiffeneris made thin at the parts indicated by f, and skiving therefore isproject, as at f in the unnecessary; but in the cheaper grade thestiffened felt is, in all except the cheapest quality of shoes, skivedoff around the upper edge of the stiffener; and this is best done on asand-paper roll, rapidly revolving, such as is used in buffing soles.The cloth for the covering or lining is best made water-proof in thewell-known manner, in order that the glue in the felt may not become toomuch softened when the shoes are in use. The waterproofing may be doneeither before or after the lining and covering are applied to the felt.

It will be obvious that the felt may be fed from a roll through thesolution of glue, and between layers of cotton cloth, and then died out;but I esteem it better to die out the stiffeners from the sheet of felt,and after saturating them in the solution of glue to place one of thefelt blanks a between a covering-blank, b, 70 and alining-blank, d, andthen mold the still moist and soft stiffener over a metal form, (theheel portion of a metal last,) and clamp it in place by a plate appliedto the sole portion of the heel-form, and dry it while so clamped, thusmaking the article shown in Fig. 3. Stiffeners thus made very muchresemble leather stiffeners in all material respects, and are very muchcheaper. Without either a cloth lining or covering the stiffeners, whenmolded and dried, are as good as those with both lining or covering,except in two respects-first, the additional expense of skiving themproperly, and, secondly, that the moisture from sweat or from wearingthe shoe in wet weather tends to soften the stiffener, and the lining ofthe shoe is hardly stout enough by itself to prevent the glue fromgetting onto the stocking. Consequently, the stiffener must be eitherlined with cloth or else made water-proof when a soluble glue is used.

A stiffener made of firm felt saturated with a solution of glue, andshaped and dried,when dipped in a waterproofing compound, (includingsuitable kinds of paint,) will be found practically free from objectionfor use as a heel-stiffener, and, if properly skived,will be practicallyequal to the best leather stifi'eners.

The main function of the cloth covering 1) and lining d is to enable avery cheap quality of felt to be nsed-that is, a felt which has verylittle tensile strength, and is very absorbentthe felt most desirable,not only because of its cheapness, but also because it is readilypenetrated by the solution of glue, has so little tensile strength as tobe practically worthless without covering 1) or lining d,- and if afirmer or more expensive quality of felt be used, it is very difficultto distribute the glue properly through it.

By felt I intend to include soft thick paper, as well as the cheapershoddy cloths, which, although woven, are made thick with shoddy; infact, all fibrous sheet material in which the fibers are so laid uponone another as to make a soft absorbent sheet.

By glue I intend to include any of the known cements suitable for thepurpose, whether soluble in water or not. It will be clear that when acement is used not soluble in water-for example, rubber dissolved innaphtha-the subsequent waterproofing is unnecessary; but, practically, Iprefer glue to any other cement.

The apparatus for molding and clamping the stiffeners over theheel-form, above referred to, will form the subject of another ap- 2 5plication.

The fabric above briefly described as made from felt between layers ofcotton cloth will also form the subject of another application.

What I claim as my invention is 1. The heel-stiffener above described,composed of felt, the fibers of which are cemented together.

2. The stiffener above described, composed of the fibrous sheet at,having its fibers cement- 3 5 ed together, and'also cemented to thecoveringb or lining 11, either or both, substantially as described.

GEORGE A. FULLERTON.

Witnesses:

J. R. SNOW, J. E. MAYNADIER.

